The Fear Hormone

The following is transcribed directly from documents found in an abandoned German test lab by American soldiers during the aftermath of WWII, roughly translated into English.

(Audio Tape) Testing is to begin tomorrow. The team does not know what to expect. Our mission is to take new research and turn it into a weapon for the war-front. It has recently been discovered that the brain releases a (previously unknown) chemical when feeling fear. For obvious reasons, this test could be extremely dangerous.

Two test subjects have been selected, and from what we were told, they were sentenced to death, but are going to instead be used as subjects in this experiment.. Subjects are given a table with two chairs, a cot with a mattress, a stocked bookcase, a notebook and pen, and a bathroom area consisting of a toilet, a sink, and a mirror. Food and water are given through a small, seal-able opening. I have nothing more to report at this time.

(Written Document) Test Subject A and B are being given the chemical in a small dose, mixed with water. Test Subject A has consumed the water, and has shown no visible changes in mood or behavior. Test Subject B has refused to drink the water. He has been forcefully given the same dosage, but by direct injection.

He gave some resistance, but was easily controlled and injected. Shortly afterward, he seemed nervous, almost paranoid, and jumped whenever he heard sudden noises. Subjects have been told to try and remain active, or sleep, not just idle.

(Written Document) It took time, but we have developed a gas based version of the chemical. If shown effective on subjects, this could become a valuable weapon. Dosage has been increased slightly. Neither subjects were aware that the chemical was being let into the room. After a few minutes, subject A stopped reading, and began to look around the room cautiously. After an estimated hour, he began to read again. Subject B immediately responded. He opened the notebook for the first time, and wrote "What is going on? Stop whispering to me. I do not want to hear you." onto a piece of paper, ripped it out of the notebook, and slipped it under the door. No reply was given.

(Written) We are going to observe the effects of long term, low amounts of the gas on subject A, and we are going to observe the effects of a short, high amount period of the gas on Subject B. The results are shocking to say the least. Subject A progressively became more unstable. He stopped reading, would not eat, and avoided the mirror at all costs. He suddenly became very aggressive, and threw a heavy book at the mirror with surprising force, shattering it.

Subject B's reaction was more... curious. He began staring at the second chair. But he was not looking at the chair, he was looking as if he was making eye contact with someone sitting in the chair. Something seems amiss, but we are definitely getting results. The Führer will be most pleased.

(Vocal Recording) (The voice sounds distressed.)

We did not want this! What did we do to deserve God's vengeance such as this?! Subject B escaped from his cell, the chair he was staring at was thrown across the room, straight into the viewing glass, instantly shattering it. It was 5 inches thick, reinforced... He didn't even touch the chair... He has escaped out of the hole made by the impa- (a very loud scream drowns out anything being said.) HELP ME, HES RIPPI (Loud crunch) - The vents are leaking the gas into the rest of the facility! The power has gone offline, and he has killed off all the gau - Oh my Lord... Oh, no, no NO, NO, PLEASE! (there is a loud, beastly roar, and sounds of struggle. The rest of the tape is silence.)

(One final note was found. It seemed to be hastily written, and barely legible.)

They are dead. Everyone one of them. I hear him in the walls. I hear him whispering to me. Yes.. Yes.. Please come and take me away! I want no more of th

(And the note ends there, the rest too soaked in blood to read.)

In April 23, 1944, Allied soldiers found an abandoned German laboratory, with its only door sealed shut. Using explosive charges, they forcefully entered the laboratory, wondering what was so important that the Germans had to lock it away. They found 13 bodies, 12 of which had matching lab coats on, mangled to pieces, and in one case, ripped straight in half. The 13th body had nondescript, brown clothing, and no head.

A larger scale investigation was launched later by the Germans as to determine what had happened, but was canceled after many German soldiers absolutely refused to return to the laboratory, even if threatened with their lives. To this day, nobody knows what happened to "B", but he is presumed dead.